The Claws of a Witch
by ConGie
Summary: Summary inside, much better than I made it sound.
1. Chapter 1

****Description****

**There is a pain that burns, and builds. It ravages the body and mind until there is very little to continue forward with. This pain is no stranger to the Witch, nor the Witch a stranger to it. They both fuel each other, building the flames ever higher. Few escape, few cope, but none ever escape...**

**This is however proven wrong by one Witch who refuses to have her kindling lit ablaze. Follow her adventure through times of despair, happiness, and rage to the end of the outbreak, and to the dawn of the future.**

****end description****

**Alright, first L4D fic along with my second try at combat. My first try was a complete failure, so let's hope I do better this time 'round, mmk? Before we continue I want to be perfectly clear that this fic has no regular update time, it will be read over and corrected two or three times by me unless I get a beta, and will be following all of my theories from "The Many Strains of Ryphiebis". If you haven't read that, go do so now! If you don't you won't understand a lot of the crap being said in later chapters.**

**This is rated M for blood, gore, violence, depictions of horror, adult situations, and light sexuality (NO LEMON).**

**Thank you for clicking on this, I hope you enjoy! BTW, I don't own L4D, just this fan made fic and a few characters.**

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**No POV**

The room wasn't what one would call large, but decently sized so that a family of four could seat themselves rather comfortably, and still have enough room to beautifully furnish. A three seat couch lay in the center, just across from an older looking TV in the corner of the room. A small coffee table intruded between the screen and love seat, angled so that it may also serve whom ever sat in the leather recliner to the right of it.

Off to the left of the couch, a window and entryway corrupted the dull white walls of the room, along with a light switch lacking a cover. Brand new, green curtains hung from small hooks jutting out just above the edges of the window, assisting in the almost eerie feel the room gave off.

Across from the entryway was another wall that to the left moved into a kitchen. A worn down wooden table had been placed in the center of the small feeding area, slightly in the way of all appliances or drawers.

Following the wall in the front room to the right, it led down a hallway fitted with three doors. One on the left, the right, and at the very end, almost seeming like a sort of prison. Two figures suddenly broke through the last door and flew through the hallway, headed towards the living room at a running speed, the larger one chasing the smaller.

The larger figure must have been just over the six foot mark, while the smaller figure was around the five and half zone. They slammed into the walls a few times before the larger finally caught up and...

SMACK!

The teenage girl fell to the floor beneath the figure of a larger man, small droplets of blood began to blanket her cheek and move to her stained red sweat shirt. She slowly began to sit up, letting her ragged brown hair fall across her wound.

"Get up!" The man yelled. She coughed up some blood, slowly trying to get to her feet.

WHACK!

The girl fell to the floor once again, clutching her stomach. The man walked over to her and delivered a swift kick into her tail bone and she recoiled in pain.

The man moved over her and grasped her chin in his hand, forcing her to look up at him. A stream of tears flowed out from the sapphires he stared into. "If you ever." He whispered. "Tell anyone about me beating you again, I will kill you so slowly, you'll wish you had a jagged knife so you could finish the job yourself, are we clear?"

She slowly nodded, trying very hard not to make her body hurt anymore than it already did. The man then let go of her and walked into the kitchen. The young girl slowly rolled onto her arms and legs, standing up, she left to clean herself of the evils wracked upon her.

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**Teen Girl's POV**

My body ached everywhere, every move made the pain increase. I walked down the hallway, using the walls for support, and turned into the bathroom across from my room on the left. I gently closed the door behind and looked into mirror, not at all surprised at what I saw.

My right eye was a dark purple along with the cheek below. In the purple skin on my cheek, the skin had ruptured and was steadily oozing blood that had leaked down to my chest. I removed my bloody sweat shirt and tank top, wincing at the pain it brought. Welts lay scattered across my stomach, and arms, a few had ruptured and were bleeding.

I then removed my skin tight jeans to find the same had happened there, luckily, none of the welts here had ruptured. I turned my body sideways and looked at my hip and saw that there was a deep gash that was about 3 inches in length from when _he_ ran at me with the knife.

My hand found it's way up into the medicine cabinet and retrieved some antiseptic. I carefully rubbed the antiseptic into the wound, not a stranger to the light burning sensation it brought. I moved to my face after that, cleaning the wounds there and wiping away any blood that got in my away.

I removed my undergarments, taking a quick glance in the mirror to see my b cup chest was undamaged by the onslaught. I reached into the shower and turned the small dials until the water was warm, but not so warm that it upset my skin any more than it already was. As soon as the water made contact, I regretted getting in so quickly, pain seared my senses but soon decreased as my body got used to the light patter of the water.

_'At least he didn't stab me this time.'_ I thought, rubbing the scar that ran in between the 2'nd and 3'rd ribs on my right side. THAT had been the worst time. _He_ had come home drunk that time, today though, he was just mad.

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_He_, married my mother long after my real father had died. While they were dating _he_ seemed liked a great guy, not as great as my father was, but descent enough. My mother was a smitten with him, as happy as could be. A month after their marriage though, he came home drunk, and without a job.

My mother tried to calm him down, but he just got angrier the more she tried. I had just come back from the mall with a few friends of mine and didn't know what was going on. He got up from his chair a slapped me, asking where I had been.

My mom slapped him in the back of the head for that, and he went into a frenzy saying that we were the reason he lost everything. They got in a big fight and I ran into my room. They kept fighting for about an hour after that, until I heard her start screaming and then a gunshot.

Tears streamed down my face, I tried to get up, to run, but I was glued to the spot in fear. He burst into the room with a large knife in his hand, staggering slightly. I stood up and screamed for help, but it was cut short when he stabbed into my lung.

He cleaned the blade's handle after that and left it in me, I'm not sure what he did with the gun. He called 911 after that saying that we had been attacked. I heard him hang up the phone and shatter a window.

The police got there minutes later and I was carried out. I looked around for the man that tried to kill me, but I didn't find him until I was in the ambulance. His right hand was being put back together by a doctor, apparently, he had broken it 'while beating the shit out of the murderer'.

After I had been fixed up enough to talk, I told them what really happened. There was a large investigation after that, but he got off a month later, scratch free. He was given complete custody over me until my eighteenth birthday, along with child care checks from the state. I never saw even a fraction of that money go towards me though. If I wanted something other than food or a place to sleep, I had to pay for it myself.

I was given my mom's car last year as a birthday present, or at least, what was left of the little Corolla. The man had beaten the shit out of it the night I came home from the hospital, only because he couldn't hit me without the possibility of killing me. Too bad I didn't stay that frail for ever...

He beat me every time I didn't come home before the street lights came on, or if I didn't buy everything we needed that week before we ran out of it. Little things always pissed him off too, like if I change the channel on the TV and missed the beginning of the show he wanted by about 5 seconds... Little things like that. He doesn't feed me very well either, I get school lunch with whatever money I get from work, and the equivalent to a sandwich for dinner.

He made me get rid of my friends too, he thought I would tell them too much. Sometimes he brings his friends home and I have to take care of them, I feel like a slave when that happens. Things get really bad when he falls asleep before his friends though... It never goes as far as rape, but it is still a scar I hold.

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I only washed with water tonight, afraid that I might inflame my wounds. "Kate." I heard him call from outside the door. "Come here!" I quickly dressed after that, I've learned that when he calls, you come or suffer.

I ran as well as I could into the front room, still clothed in what I had been earlier. I rounded the corner and headed into the kitchen, there I saw him eating out of a TV dinner box at his usually end of the table. I looked to my end and saw a small container of spam, still needing to be cooked.

"Eat and go to bed. In the morning I want you to even your face out with make up and not tell any one about what happened, are we clear?"

"Yes, sir..." I answered quietly. I picked up the small container, emptied the contents into a small bowl, and put it in the microwave. The timer when off a short time later, and I sat down in my usual spot.

"Your cousin wanted to go to a movie with you tomorrow, she'll pick you up from school tomorrow so don't take your car. There is some money on your bed, enough for the ticket and a few snacks. She also wants you to stay the night, you may if you want, just be home before dinner tomorrow."

I didn't answer him when he finished, too engaged in my meal. I finished, then threw away the container and whatever dishes were in the sink at the time. I moved over to one of the cabinets and pulled out a glass then moved towards the fridge. I placed the glass into the right door of the fridge, pressing a button at the same time, and it filled with water.

Satisfied with the now full glass, I moved through the kitchen and living room, then into my own room. My hand closed the door behind me as I went in, lightly clicking as the small bolt went into place. Across from me, a twin size bed lay in the right hand corner, the end facing me. A small nightstand just to the left of the head board.

A window just to the left of the nightstand along with a closet on the opposing wall were all that was left in the room. I moved over to the closet after setting my glass on the nightstand and changed into a two piece. The top was a dark green while the bottom was blue, the words 'Old Navy' ran across the top.

I moved over to the bed, moving earlier mentioned items to the nightstand before pulling the blankets back so I could move under their protection. I tried to fall asleep, but the darkness would not claim my senses no matter how calm I forced myself to be. After half an hour of just laying there, I decided to think on what I would do the next day.

How long had it been since I last saw my cousin? I think I was twelve or maybe thirteen the last time I saw her. I bet she is in college now, hopefully learning to do what she always dreamed of doing. What did she want to do? I really need to pay more attention...

Something didn't really add up though. Why in the world would that evil bastard let me go somewhere with family? He could have just as easily told her that I was too busy with school or work to go and have fun. Whatever the case may be, I was still glad to be allowed to get out and interact.

For almost a year now, the only person I've really talked to was the school psychiatrist. She always asked me about my feelings and worthless crap like that, usually bringing up my mother's death. I had to hide my secret of who really killed her for such a long time, I finally snapped and told her everything, which is why I was beaten earlier.

I lifted the blanket to check my body once again, then shifted so there was less pain to do deal with and recovered myself in the warmth the blanket provided. I wonder what movie we are going to go see. I hope it's that new Avatar movie** (AN-I don't own that either)**, I heard it was fairly good.

There was suddenly a crash from the front room and a few curses, but I payed very little attention to it since it was a regular thing to hear. Every few nights he would throw a fit or two over something a coworker did, nothing new.

I suddenly felt the darkness around me reach it's sweet smelling arms out to grasp me and I yawned. Finally feeling tired enough to sleep, I let the darkness slip itself deeper into my sight until I could see nothing but the darkness.

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**The story will not continue until I have completed "The Passing" campaign that is set to release at the end of March, 2010. The reason for this is because I need what Valve has written in that campaign to determine how the rest of the story is going to go.**

**Now before you get on my case, I know this chapter was short, but that's how the intro is supposed to be. I also made it this short because it was a good time to end it.**

**Don't forget to review! If I get ten reviews for this chapter the first week of it's release I'll write chapter 2 early, but not chapter 3 (reason stated above). And don't just submit a single sentence review just so you can read the next chapter. As flattering as that is, I want to hear more than just 'that was cool!' In later chapters, I'll let that fly, but not in this one.**

**Any flames will be removed, I don't care if you don't like the fic, that's your problem, not mine.**

**'Till next time!**

**The Sage of Water,  
****~ConGie**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sooooo, hi again! Sorry this took so long, internet crapped out and then I went on vacation. And sorry about the shortness, I had to really drag this one out as it was.

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**-1 Days Until Initial Infection-**

I awoke with fluttering eyes to a blinding light before sitting up. Sun light poured in from in between the curtains, mostly landing where my face was moments ago, it was my way of waking up in the morning since I didn't have a phone or an alarm clock.

I removed the few blankets that still clung to my form and stood to a full height to stretch. I felt three of my ribs and a few vertebrae pop back into place then lowered my arms back to my side and relaxed myself. I had always been a very skinny, bony person so my bones cracked rather often and it was loud.

I was usually teased for it, called weak, and pathetic. At least, that's how it was until about a year ago when I gave a girl a bloody nose for making fun of me, after that people just generally stayed away and whispered when I passed them.

Those whispers turned into snickers recently, my guess being that there is a rumor going around. I don't really care though, I have no friends, I have no life, why should I rumor mean anything to me?

I opened the door to my room and lazily stumbled down the hallway, still a bit tired. Once in the kitchen, I fed myself some cereal, cleaned my bowl, then went back down the hallway to use the bathroom.

I came out a few minutes later and got dressed in my usual attire. When not around the house, I wear skin hugging jeans that, without shoes, would normally wrap themselves around the heel of my foot and drag everywhere I went. The pants are usually black, while my shirt, being the same color, can range anywhere from The Legend of Zelda, to Slipknot.

Today, however, I chose to wear a dark purple and black, striped tee, as well as an LP **(DO NOT OWN LP) **zip up hoodie on top of that. I don't know why, but I had always had trouble keeping my body warm, I guess it's because I'm so thin, but that's just my guess.

After dressing, grabbing both my backpack and the money 'father' left me, I left my house, locking the door behind me of course, and walked to school from there. I attended Mercy High, and am in 10'Th grade now. My favorite subject? HA! I hate school, I hate learning this pointless crap. For instance, when in the world am I going to need to know the many different types of algae?

With the way I have my life planned out, never. I want to work at Old Navy **(AGAIN, NOT MINE)** and work my way to the top, then I'm going to die of a drug overdose brought on by a deep depression at around 25 or 30 years old. No one will find my body until the neighbors next door in a shitty apartment, like the one I'll have, start complaining about the smell of rotting flesh and tissue.

But enough of my pointless, emotional ramblings, I have yet another day of crap to deal with.

**(Next)**

I sat in the last class of the day, computer science, with my head on the desk in front of me, my work completed early, as always. It's during this time that I always feel the need to cut myself, but what's the point? I already get enough scars as it is. Speaking of which, there were a lot more whispers today than usual.

I was broken from my thought process with the voice of my 'grandma' teacher' suddenly breaking the unbearably dull silence that filled the room. "Ms. Laverne, could you please come with me?" She asked in an all too polite tone. Stupid buzzard, I'm still surprised that she knows anything about computers.

"Sure." I replied, standing up and following her out of the room. She led me through many hallways lined with dull, pale blue lockers until we stood in front of my own. Mine had very little paint left on it thanks to a prank about 2 years prior to now, but if you ask me, it was an improvement to the god-awful blue.

The old woman turned to me and motioned to the locker. "Please gather your things and then report to the principals office."

I looked at her with question. "Did I do something wrong?" I asked, trying to sound as polite and innocent as I possibly could.

"No dear, your cousin came early."

"What about my work?"

She chuckled at my words. "And that's why you're my favorite, always about your work. Don't worry about it, I'll save it as soon as I get back to the class room."

I smiled at her and nodded, all the while thinking; 'too bad you aren't my favorite'. I quickly gathered my things and bid her farewell, then walked towards the front of the school. I knocked on the door that read 'Principal's Office' and was greeted by a 30 year old woman wearing a white blouse and black skirt.

She was what most men would go after, fair skin, great smell, great build, but her feminine perfection only went so far. Now, most people say that blondes simply aren't as smart as other hair colors, the principal proves this theory to be entirely correct.

"Good, afternoon Mrs. Dunbar." I said with a false smile.

She returned the smile and motioned for me to come in. I could see my cousin sitting in one of the two chairs set out before Mrs. Dunbar's desk. She too was of a good build, though not as 'Beverly Hills' as the principal.

My cousin wasn't tall, nor large on the chest, but she had what some guys would call a cute physic, bearing the same features as I for the most part. She did however differ in hair and eye color, both being of a chestnut brown, and her smile... never fake...

She turned around and gave me one of her compassionate grins, the ones that made reminded me of my mother, full of truth and at the same time, a fiery spirit. She was dressed in basically the same attire as I, yet another reason I liked her, though she preferred the red hoodie to mine black one.

"Hi Katie." She said cheerfully. My mother had called me that and it made me think how ironic it really was, she already reminded me so much of her.

"Hi." I replied. Mrs. Dunbar smiled and sat down in her chair, but then oddly stared at me. "What..." I asked while staring back.

"So what happened?"

I was a little confused at that, I thought I was just getting dismissed. "What do you mean?"

"Why do you have a black eye?"

I knew I was forgetting something before I left the house. I looked through my bag for the small compact I normally kept with me. My fingers found it and I slowly brought it up to look at myself and sure enough, I had completely forgotten about make up this morning.

My heart sank with that, it was the one thing that I had forgotten and yet the most important. I quickly thought up a lie and relayed it as if it as best I could. "Oh that, I just tripped over some clothes in my room last night and my belt was on my bed and when I landed on the bed, the belt was where my eye was."

She looked skeptical of my lie at first but then relaxed a bit and took it in. "Alright, it wasn't that girl Stacie getting back at you?"

Stacie was the cheerleader I had punched the year before. "No ma'am, it was my fault completely."

She slowly nodded then smiled. "Okay, thank you. You can leave with your cousin now."

The two of us slowly stood and exited, saying good bye as we went, and headed out into the parking lot. She drove an older Toyota, not sure of the make or year, but it wasn't something to be proud of, that was for sure.

She got in first then unlocked the passenger door and I got in along side her. She turned the key several times, trying to get the car to start, until on the fourth time it finally sputtered to life. We pulled out of the lot and drove down to a light and turned left, moving out of the smaller part of town and slowly into the business district.

"So," She started. "How was your day?"

"It was okay, perfectly boring, but tolerable. And yours?"

She sighed. "No different, I decided to skip my classes today and watch P2 **(Good movie)**. Then, I went out for lunch and here I am."

A long silence followed until she pulled into a McDonald's drive through. "Would you like anything?"

I nodded and asked for a simple meal of fries, a cheese burger, and a coke. I wasn't ever one to eat much, just enough to get by. We pulled out with our food and drove a few blocks before moving into a parking garage.

She pulled into a spot by the door and the two of us got out and went through the door with our food. The garage was apparently part of the college because we obviously were among dorm rooms as soon as we went through the door. It was fairly nice, well carpeted and kept, however it smelled of smoke.

"Sorry, I forgot Smokey, as we call him, switched dorms." She turned left and continued down the hallway, following several turns until we came to a sweet smelling room. She turned to the door with the aroma and whispered. "My room mate won't be here much longer, I asked for her to switched with someone else because of the smell."

I giggled, she always had a good sense of humor. The door suddenly opened and some self conscious bitch suddenly huffed out with several bags over her shoulders. I burst out laughing as I watched her go, she really was one of those out of school teenagers. You seem to always hear about them but never see them.

"Why are you laughing?" My cousin asked.

I tried to slow my fit, without much luck. "She's like one of those out of school cheer girls you always hear about!"

She stared at me for a second then smiled and walked into her room. I tried calm myself, I was laughing at something wasn't exactly funny after all, and followed after her. The dorm was rather small, the living room and kitchen mixed together with the beds on either side of an entertainment center. Millions of dvds lay on it's shelves, most of them horror movies.

She flopped down onto the bed by the window on the far side the moaned into the pillow as I lay my bag atop the other bed. I walked around to the TV and looked at the case on top of it. It looked like a good movie, it was P2, she must have never put it away.

"Hey, how long until the movie?" I asked.

"I lied, we aren't gonna see a movie, I just wanted to hang with you."

I smiled, I knew why she lied. Just about every other time she asked to see me, 'dad' said no. It made sense to lie to him, he didn't really deserve the truth anyways.

She turned over and looked at me. "So how did you really get the black eye."

"I told you."

"Don't lie, the school called and told me what you told the counselor."

I looked down at my feet and sat down on the bed, keeping my head down. "He hit me..."

She got up and sat next to me, then slowly pulled the side of my shirt up. "God" She whispered.

I was probably still purple from last night. She poked at one of the welts and I hissed in pain. "Why didn't you tell anyone earlier?"

I slowly pulled my shirt back down and kept her gaze away best I could. "I wanted to, but I was afraid this would happen, and now look at me."

She carefully wrapped her arm around me, obviously afraid of hurting me again. I just let it go then, I started out slow, but soon was crying so hard that I was shaking. She just held me after that, slowly rocking back and forth and stroking my hair back over my head.

I don't know how long I cried, it didn't really matter though, she was there for me now, I hadn't been able to just cry for a long time, and it felt as if a great weight had been lifted. For the first time since my mother died, I felt safe and warm.

She just held me until I finished, waiting patiently. I wiped my eyes and slowly pushed her away, not out of anger or anything like that, I was just tired of sitting. I stood up and walked over to the bag of food on her bed and brought it back with me.

The two of us ate in silence after that, there wasn't anything that need be said. She finished first and turned on the T.V. To some reality show about six people. It looked like an older show to me, something made In the 90's.

"Do you like F.R.I.E.N.D.S.?" She asked.

"I've never heard of it."

"Oh, I think you will." She turned her attention back to the screen and smiled as one of the characters told a joke. I didn't personally find it amusing but then again I did just finish crying.

We watched T.V. For the rest of the day, just vegetating and laying around. I liked not having to work all the time, it was nice for a change, even if it was just for today. The phone rang at about 10:30 and she answered in a cheery voice.

"Hello?"

I couldn't make out what the other person was saying, but the voice sounded female. Her face suddenly changed from a cheery one to an overly cheery expression.

"Okay, thank you." She hung up the phone and with a beaming smile she stared at me. "What..."

"Guess!" She bounced.

"You had a stroke?"

"Noooo."

"Just tell me."

"Nope!"

"... Zoey..."

She huffed once and brushed her hair aside. "Fine, your 'father' had his throat slit and will be in the hospital for several months and then possibly prison depending on what his story is!"

I was visibly giddy with that, a little awe struck, but overly happy that things may have just cleared up, and my life had just fixed itself. I couldn't believe it, things had gone just I had hoped. He was hurt and may go to jail... I realized that I hadn't said anything yet, I had just been sitting there while she stared at me.

"A-are you serious?" I asked disbelievingly.

She nodded with that stupid grin plastered to her face.

It was really happening, my life was back, that monster was gone, the nightmares were over...

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**Yep, that's right, it's Zoey! Don't worry, I won't break into the l4d story and change it or nothing, I just thought t would be a neat little reference y'know? For those of you who actually read the journal, you know what's coming next don't you *evil smile***


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